Ann Kinney

Dorothy Ann Kinney (Gilles) died peacefully on September 11, 2023 after 93 years of laughter, homemade apple pies, and laser-focused rounds of euchre. She was a woman of many names – Annie, Ann, Dottie, Pigeon, One-Shot Annie, Turkey, Boobs, Mrs. Kinney, Mom, The Package, Hammer Toe, Grandma, Gma, and Kinney - but never Dorothy!

Born March 7th, 1930 in the closet of the Gilles family farmhouse in Kickapoo, Ill., Annie's tenacity started young. As a little girl, she broke her nose falling off the porch during a tussle with her sister over a penny. And when she spotted an unlucky fox invading the hen house, and got too excited, one pull of the trigger earned her yet another nickname: “One Shot Annie.”

In her 20s, she worked as a messenger at the Board of Trade in Peoria, Ill. where she met the love of her life, James Raymond “Jim” Kinney II. They married in February 1957 and had their first of five children just 11 months later. Even as a mother of five kids in seven years, she was somehow always in control of them – because of course, she was always right! Her love for cooking meant you could often find her making a complete mess of the kitchen, peering into the oven to monitor her work, and inevitably burning the rolls. When Jim would come home from work, they shared Manhattans with a dash of vermouth in the living room while chatting about their day before dinner – and the kids knew better than to disturb them!

Ann had a fiercely competitive spirit and was always up for any game – golf, bowling, cards, mahjong, and Rummikub – and she was notoriously good at all of them. (When Jim took her bowling on their first date, she beat him 210-200, and he didn’t call her for a month!) On the golf course, she cheered for her ball to stop on the fringe so she could beat you in putts, and she even shot a hole-in-one. She was a prized partner in any game of euchre, the founding member of Ann Kinney’s Euchre Club at Trillium Crossing, and would never trump her partner’s ace. During family gatherings, Ann was the one to beat at ‘Chase the Ace’ while her grandchildren chanted, “down downdown… Grandma’s going down!” And if she wasn’t playing games, she was watching her Fighting Illini on TV! She loved all sports - she played a mean third base on her “Lucky’s Grill” softball team and her beloved Cubbies winning a World Series was a highlight.

Ann was the true matriarch of the family and set the example for dedicated family time and traditions. She carried on her family’s tradition of eating hot dogs on Christmas morning and nine decades later, every member of her family still does too. She mailed her peanut brittle across the country to make sure everyone always had some at Christmas, and everyone always looked forward to a pan of cheesy potatoes. And for every birth and wedding, Ann spent hours cross-stitching gifts for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, even during her long battle with Parkinson’s.

From Peoria to Champaign to Upper Arlington to Naperville to Bella Vista in Arkansas and Trillium in Columbus, Ann truly had a gift for making her friends and family feel endlessly loved every single day. She will be remembered by dear friends and neighbors  Katie Holloway, Karen and John Brown, Anne and John Zick, the Stephen family and her many many friends at Trillium, especially Sally Dunnigan, Marj Huyck, and her Euchre club.

Ann is preceded in death by her husband, her parents, five brothers, one sister, and one infant sister. She is survived by her loving children, Cynthia Anne (Jim) Van Zoeren of Kalamazoo, Mich., John Edward (Inna) Kinney of Bexley, Ohio, Jane Marie (Robert) Cozzarelli of Hilliard, Ohio, Mary Katherine Kinney of Chicago, and James Raymond III (Paula) Kinney of Naperville; grandchildren, Nicholas (Tiffany), Monica (Alex) Copelan, Danielle, Tito, Mara (Nate) Bach, Sara, A.J., J.R., Jenna, and Emily; great-grandchildren, Charlotte, Cecelia, Calista, Isaac, and Corinne. Her numerous nieces and nephews loved her so;  her sister Mary Ambrosch of Peoria is the last of her siblings - and still golfing at 96!

 A Celebration of Life will be held at Trillium Crossing on Tuesday, October 3 at 2:30 p.m. and a Funeral Mass will be held at St. Mary Catholic Church in Kickapoo, Illinois; on Saturday, October 28 at 11:00 am where the family will receive friends from 10-11:00 am. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Michael J Fox Foundation https://give.michaeljfox.org , Ohio Health Hospice https://www.ohiohealth.com/ or St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Kickapoo, IL https://stmaryskickapoo.org/church/

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